Page 52 of Hired for Research
His plan had been to go home and shower, then go to bed, but he was agitated all over again. The little bit of calm he’d found in exercising had burned away watching Evelyn, so he stopped by the store before going to his apartment, grabbing a gallon jug of scent neutralizer and a spray bottle.
Jett’s mattress and couch were both soggy by the time he deemed them soaked enough to be rid of her scent. He walked through his entire apartment, spraying everything from the walls to the carpet, the entire gallon used up by the time he finished. Exhausted, but with nowhere else to sleep, he flopped onto the floor in the wee hours of the morning, dreams taking over as his breathing slowed.
Once again he found himself searching for Evelyn, but this time there was no scent to lead him on. With no sounds, or tracks, or anything else to follow, he wandered a city that seemed both crammed with people, yet completely desolate, looking for the one person who made him feel as if there was a bigger purpose in life than simply existing.
He woke to a typical overcast morning, almost as tired as when he’d gone to sleep. He groaned as he rolled upright, his body stiff from sleeping on the floor. A glance at his phone showed he was already late, and he barely had time to change clothes before he was rushing out the door to make it to Evelyn’s hotel. He had no doubt she would leave without him if he didn’t show up, heading to the worksite alone to face a hundred alphas that would all want a piece of her.
Growling under his breath, he jogged down the sidewalk, spotting Evelyn as she backed out of the hotel carrying her laptop bag and the box of supplies.
23. Evelyn
“Oh, there you are.”
She’d begun to worry that she’d driven Jett off by denying his offer to go to diner again, and a small part of her heart had broken at the thought. Spotting him closing in on her had her breathing a sigh of relief until she noticed the expression on his face.
“Is everything okay?”
He huffed as he came to a stop, reaching out to take the case from her. He didn’t respond right away, and her stomach began to churn from the anxiety.
“Everything is fine since I made it. You clearly weren’t thinking about the danger you’d be in at the worksite alone since you decided not to wait for me.”
Her mouth opened and closed before she found her voice, irritation lacing her tone.
“I was planning to go by your apartment first. I thought maybe you overslept or something.”
He grunted before sucking in a deep breath of the crisp air and seeming to shake himself. His expression cleared, settling into something more neutral, though his usual cheer was missing.
“I did, but I’m here.”
She didn’t like the way he seemed to be returning to the alpha bossiness from when she first arrived, but she filed it away in her mind as something to put in her notes. She may have told herself she would use her heat as research to feel better in the moment, but there was no reason for her not to. Keeping track of behavior changes was one of the things that might be useful when she presented her findings.
She let him lead the way toward the worksite, still not sure enough of where things were to do it herself. She’d been distracted the last time they’d been there and didn’t trust herself not to make a wrong turn.
Unlike when they’d walked together before her heat, the silence between them was strained, and while she tried to think of something to talk about, the glances at his profile left her unwilling to be the first to speak. She spotted the unfinished building ahead of them before she had the courage to say anything.
“I’m hoping we have a pretty steady flow until eleven or so, then we can grab lunch on the way back to the hospital. The blood should be fine in the cooler pack until we get there and I can put it in the refrigeration unit.”
His eyes cut sideways, finally meeting hers. It was hard to read the look on his face, but his tone was less angry when he responded.
“Sounds good. There’s a food truck a few blocks away if you want to give it a try before heading to the hospital.”
Relief flooded her chest and she gave him a broad smile, agreeing. She didn’t want things to be tense or awkward between them, and she was doing her best to find the balance they’d had before her unexpected cycle. It was hard to be so close to him all the time while trying to rebuild the wall that had been knocked down. She kept having to stop herself from leaning into him when he was beside her, and from reaching out to brush his unruly curls off his forehead.
It was part of the reason why she’d said no to him the previous evening. At the hospital it was easier to maintain a sense of professionalism, but alone with him on what might as well be a date, she didn’t think she could keep herself from giving in to the desire that still burned inside her.
Would it ever end?
She hoped time and space would help, but she had a sinking feeling she’d never get over her time in Eden.
The crew chief had been nice enough to set aside some space in his office for Evelyn to use, and they got set up right away to start taking volunteers. She had more than she’d thought she would, but she expected it was because the men got a fifteen-minute break by donating. It wasn’t much, but it gave them a chance to sit down and warm up for a bit.
By the time eleven came, she figured she’d gotten samples from most of the men working on the theater, and she wanted to smack herself for not going to the sites from the beginning. She could have had twice the samples already, though it was harder to convince them to come to the hospital later to have an MRI done.
She was tired of standing by the time she finished packing everything back into the case and wasn’t particularly looking forward to walking to the hospital, but she didn’t have much of a choice. She’d already lost days and who knew how many alphas that may have stopped by but wouldn’t come back.
“You okay?”
Her head snapped up, focusing on Jett’s golden eyes. He’d relaxed during the time they’d been at the worksite, though he still watched the alphas carefully. Now all she could see was concern on his face.
